


tell me when you’re falling (can you hear me calling?)

by capulets



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: A Few Jiara Shenanigans, F/M, Minor Mention Of The Pogues And Sarah, Pining Definitely Some Pining, Sand Surfing Still Counts As Surfing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:40:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25602229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capulets/pseuds/capulets
Summary: being in love with your best friend makes vacationing pretty inconvenient. luckily for kiara, said best friend will never suspect a thing.or, alternatively, kie crushes on jj amidst their latest escapade.(jiara week day four: destination day)
Relationships: JJ/Kiara (Outer Banks)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 73
Collections: Jiara July Jubilee





	tell me when you’re falling (can you hear me calling?)

**Author's Note:**

> Another late-ish post! The title comes from Khalid’s Free Spirit, which totally works here, along with Off The Grid - Alina Baraz ft. Khalid. I’m almost through catching up on the fics y’all have blessed us all with and WOW WOW WOW the talent as writers is amazing! Go give love to those stories and writers if you haven’t already! As for this piece, I actually really like how this turned out, so enjoy this little destination day short for jiara week day four!

“Don’t tell me you’re not packed.”

Kiara glares at him the moment she sets foot in The Chateau. She doesn’t buy the innocent grin he shoots her for a second.

“Define packed. Packed as in firepower? Cause I got that.”

“How many times do I have to tell you: _you’re not bringing the gun.”_

He pouts before swallowing, turning his head down and admitting, “Then yeah, I’m not… I’m not packed.”

“We have to be at the airport in an hour.”

Kiara’s voice is tight as she attempts to control her minor rage over the fact that they’ve had this trip planned for _two months_ and he hasn’t put any clothing into a suitcase since they discussed it. 

Like any good worldly travelers, they let a random generator decide their fate. They’d head off to where it landed and come back home afterwards. Or maybe jet to another place; did it really matter? The point was, it was a vacation. An escape from the mundane into something extraordinary. At least it _would be,_ if JJ bothered to _prepare for the trip whatsoever._

“Kie, c’mon,” he begins, since apparently her inner monologue filter was off and let her mental griping through. She just finishes her rush packing before shoving a bag at him and heading out the door. In order to get off the island, they have to get to Norfolk International to fly out. With the unexpected detour, they’re running on less time and if they miss this flight, no amount of firepower can save JJ from Kiara’s wrath. 

Naturally it comes down to the last minute. 

“The gates are _literally_ closing!”

“Yeah, JJ, they kinda do that _when a plane is about to take off_.”

It’s not his first time on a flight but they’ve never had to cut it this close before. Kiara ignores the dirty looks from other aggravated passengers as they find their seats, and she settles in for the flight. JJ’s surprisingly without comment, which causes her to look over at him and take in the significantly paled white of his face. She curses herself for forgetting; he always gets nervous on planes. Every single time they’ve flown, the near fearless JJ Maybank, king of suggestive conversation and mechanical information (nobody beats Pope’s one liners) becomes silent in the face of gliding through the air. Normally he’d fidget with her things as well as his own but he’s laid off on touching her, tapping his fingers against the upright back of the tray table instead.

 _He’s respecting your space,_ a voice that sounds suspiciously like Sarah croons in her head. Kiara’s head is turned out towards the window as she slides her hand into his. She plays with his fingers which soon has them engaged in an all out thumb war. He whips her four to two featuring a flirty comment about how good he is with his fingers (“Didn’t know you were this good with your hands, JJ.” Do you _wanna_ know, Carrera?” “Definitely passing.”). She rocks him six to three in their rock paper scissors series and she almost forgets she’s doing this for him. It’s too easy to get caught up with JJ. No matter what they’re doing, it ends up feeling like an adventure. From chilling on the pullout to games on planes, watching him smile at her like that makes her feel like she’d try anything to keep him happy. Even going sand dune surfing after the random generator spat out Colorado under the guise of proving who is truly the better surfer. Kie’s known she’s fucked for a long time, but this feels like a different level of fucked. Like it’s solidifying, crystallizing, becoming a piece of her. 

“You reconsidering?” JJ asks her with the smirk he gets when he’s feeling bolstered by something and she realizes she’s been staring blankly at his hands for the past five minutes.

“Reconsidering not just taking this vacation by myself? Yeah, actually,” she replies on autopilot. She moves on quickly, ignoring whatever flashes through his eyes as she questions, “Rematch? How ‘bout we make it interesting and the loser buys lunch?” 

It disappears and he assents with a confident, “Hell yeah. Get ready to get me something full kook.” 

The first part of the ride passes in similar fashion, but boredom strikes with unfailing timing soon enough. Kiara suggests watching a movie and they settle on some dumb romantic comedy they take turns making fun of as the actors cry, scream, make out, and make up. It’s all fun and games except some of it reminds Kiara of her Kook Year, and suddenly she’s biting down into her lip until she tastes blood because _yes_ she still regrets leaving but there’s more to it than that. No one knows what they did to her before and after she got in with Sarah Cameron. The mean notes, offensive posts. Somehow people managed to get into her locker and fill it with various plastics as a mockery of her adamant stance on protecting the environment and the wildlife inhabiting it. 

The last straw was the dead fish. She didn’t know how or who did it, but she remembers walking down the hallway, guided by an absolutely rancid smell and opening her locker to find fish guts everywhere. She rushed to the bathroom and threw up; what the hell else could she do? That was the day Sarah asked her to go save baby turtles at the beach. The familiar sensation of bile rises up in her throat at the sight of a dead fish on screen and she puts her head against JJ’s shoulder, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. He doesn’t say anything, just holds onto her with an arm around her side. 

She looks up when she’s ready, but he isn’t looking at her. He’s staring right at the screen. She smiles, just a little bit, and goes back to watching. 

—

Two more movies and a quick nap later, their plane lands. JJ gave up a third of the way through the second one and knocked out, but Kiara stayed up to watch. He’d started whining about how uncomfortable he was, which led to her putting up the armrest and allowing him to stretch out across her lap. She traced patterns against the fabric of his shirt, the back of his neck, messed with his hair a little. She didn’t give herself time to think about his other arm curling around her while he slept. It felt good to push his head off of her lap once he woke up and started talking _down on her_. The light headassery reminded her that this was what travel buds did to each other. One did something uneducated but wholly intentional, and the other educated them and reminded themself of what common sense was and how it operated. 

They opt for a taxi instead of a rental car, Kiara arguing that they won’t need to drive anywhere because their hotel is situated in a pretty good spot. There are plenty of shops and restaurants nearby. And speaking of, after they check in and get set, JJ buys Kiara lunch. 

“You still cheated.”

“For the _thousandth time,_ no I didn’t! It’s not my fault you suck at Rock, Paper, Scissors.”

“Okay, but you suck at thumb wrestling. A lot, actually.”

“Will you shut up and let me eat?” 

He does, though they’re both chuckling quietly. The place isn’t anything noteworthy, a halfway hole in the wall. Something regular, familiar, kind of like The Wreck. She makes a mental note to tell him about this place once they get back, compare and contrast a little bit. 

Because Kiara’s not an idiot (see: completely), she sprung for a hotel room with _two_ beds. And she can safely say that it was the right decision after having JJ sleep on her for a large chunk of their flight. After they’ve eaten, they head back to the hotel to chill. Both JJ and Kiara update the Pogues and Sarah on how they’re doing. They both brag about their finger game victories and downplay the losses. They agree to a group FaceTime at some point, either now or when they get back to the OBX. They end the night by ordering room service pizza and beers, laughing at old cartoons. It reminds Kiara of the old times with her boys, when they were younger and would go watch T.V. at John B’s before riding off on their bikes to find their next adventure. She keeps the fact of their friendship strongly in mind throughout the rest of the night. 

—

Since weed is legal in Colorado, JJ takes off the next morning and comes back with his package from the dispensary beaming.

“Kid. Candystore,” Kiara notes with a smirk as she towels off her wet hair. He rolls his eyes at her, smile still bright as the sun. 

“Thank God for fake ids,” JJ whoops, placing his stash on the desk and opening the little baggie up.

“Oh _no._ Not in here. We could get fined!” Kiara whisper yells, hopping off of the bed and gliding in between the blonde and his cut up drugs.

“Kiara. Move,” JJ says, and she hates how hot it sounds to her. Avoiding responsibility is a Maybank talent passed down from generations, so seeing him somewhat take it here is turning her on slightly. 

“Make me,” she challenges, and his eyes go down to her shirt. It’s still wet from her hair, sticking to her skin. The white tee is nothing special, but the same can’t be said of the brilliant turquoise bralette underneath it. Casual black shorts complete the ensemble, shorts which are currently pressed up against JJ’s. They’re standing toe to toe and she’s staring him down, arms by her sides. 

“I’m serious, Kie. Move.”

He sounds like he’s pleading.

“So am I.”

She sounds like she’s serious. Which she is, of course. Kiara knows from experience to never approach JJ with a bluff; he’d call it. He’s calling it now. 

“You really wanna do this?” He asks, and she’s ashamed at the fact that she doesn’t know whether he’s referring to her blocking his way or the consequences that are bound to arise from the looks in their eyes. 

Kiara knows what it’s like to crack. She understands how it works, the resolve chipping away until it breaks. She felt it when she tried her hardest not to fall in love with her best friend, Sarah Cameron. She feels it now, the chisel of her emotions hacking away at the steadily crumbling resolve she has left. 

“Yeah,” Kiara whispers, tilting her head up so her nose skims his, “I do.”

Her lips are on his in the next second and she’s grateful that he doesn’t question it at all. They’re both sober right now, but the logic piece can easily be explained by the dual short circuit in both of their brains. Kiara isn’t worried about it right now. All she can think about how _this_ is what it took for him to finally kiss her and how it’s everything she thought it would be.

He squeezes down on her hips and she moans, so correction, _more_ than she thought it would be. 

Much. Much. More.

“That all you got, Maybank?” Kiara mumbles as he kisses her neck and she feels him grin against the column of her throat. He picks her up, setting her back against the desk and she wraps her legs around his waist, pulling him into her.

“Really fucking eager there,” he observes, though her lips have found his jaw at this point.

“Shut up,” she huffs back, returning her lips to his which works wonderfully. He slides his tongue into her mouth and she shivers, nearly demanding that he set her down on one of their beds right then and there. In good time he does, laying her down and putting his knees on either side of her hips as he kisses her. His hands rest beside her head but hers are on his neck and in his hair. They stay there momentarily before dipping down to trace along his chest.

“You cool with taking this off?” She mumbles against his lips and he removes it with a laugh and a, “Hell yeah.” To be honest, Kiara’s surprised it’s going this well. Not JJ; she’s heard stories upon stories about him. But generally, her track record with feelings and way less than platonic contact isn’t great. 

JJ’s fingers cross along the strip of skin her t-shirt exposes, slipping under it when she tells him it’s okay. And it occurs to her as he’s touching her that this is actually happening. For real. She’s about to fuck him in this hotel room, but _not_ because she’s thirsty as hell (which she is). It’s because she likes him. And while this isn’t about to mean anything to him, it’s going to mean _something_ to her.

She tries to shake it off by removing her t-shirt, flipping them over and straddling his hips with hers. It nearly works (oh, how she wants it work when their hips messily grind together) but her compartmentalization meter is off so she gets off of him. She sits cross legged on the bed and tells him straight up, “I can’t.”

Although he looks really confused, JJ nods at her. 

“Okay,” he responds. She doesn’t watch as he slips off the bed. Her head collides with her hands when she hears the door close. She wants to scream into a pillow, but she finds herself sitting down at the desk that started all of this with her phone in her hands, dialing Sarah’s number. 

It’s empty. 

—

They tiptoe around each other from now on. After a light joke about the kiss, they move on from it, pretending it never happened. Kiara’s only slightly miserable. She decides she can live with that.

The actual sand surfing they came here to do arrives early in the evening, much to Kie’s relief and delight. JJ’s pumped too; his constant energy gets bumped up, but it’s not as high as when he’s freaking out. She’s long since stopped worrying about when she became so attuned to _JJ_ of all people (the same night the _Phantom_ went down. She noticed he seemed to stop moving when he was sad, something she’d subconsciously picked up on in the weeks after his mom left for the milliseconds he’d let his guard down and stopped pretending). 

“John B thinks I’m gonna win,” he crows proudly as their cab weaves through traffic on the way, shooting a victorious glance her way.

“So that’s one for you,” Kie shoots back, mirroring his expression, “Sarah and Pope are picking me.”

“But Sarah’s not a Pogue!” JJ argues with a frown, before shrugging out, “And that’s a no brainer. They won’t admit I’m the best without proof, I guess.”

Kiara lets the conversation fade out there, refusing to admit the cause of her little smile is his words on the choice of her being a no brainer. 

Since they’re visiting a national park to go sandboarding, Kiara insists on walking around and taking in the sights. There are families scattered about, strolling and enjoying their time. At some point a woman offers to take a picture of, “you and your gorgeous boyfriend,” to which JJ smirks and Kie bats his arm. They take turns taking pictures along the way, flooding the groupchat as they go along. It seems coupley without being cringey, and with that thought Kiara quickens their pace. 

They have to hike to get to the sand dunes, but both of them are used to carrying around effects. They fall into a similar routine, joking back and forth on the way up. The normality of it both comforts her and scares her; does it mean anything that they’re able to walk so close and she can breathe without overthinking it? Or that she can brush off his flirting like usual but her heartbeat still wacks out? She wonders if he can hear the endearment when she flips him off and mutters, “Dumbass.” 

“Alright, you ready to get your ass kicked once and for all?”

JJ’s as cool as ever. To anyone else, they’d figure this was just a regular night for him. 

“Terms first,” Kiara reminds him, grinning as he groans, “First one down wins. If you wipe out you forfeit. Tricks can get you style points, but only if you land them, and you have to land at least one before you hit the bottom.”

“Cool. Ready?” JJ returns, and she nods through her amusement at his impatience.

“Ready,” Kiara affirms, and they push off. Immediately she realizes how different it is from surfing on water. The ground beneath her is more solid, there’s less of a push and pull and more of a slight snag. JJ’s already gotten the hang of it and after a few tries, he nails his first trick. The smug grin he shoots her is enough to get her in gear. It takes her longer to get a trick down but once she does, it’s simpler to try a few more. 

In the end, it’s not enough. He beats her fair and square, whooping and hollering all the while.

“Dude, fuck you,” Kiara means to say as he picks her up and swings her around in his joy during her bout of giggles. It comes out as, “Dude, I love you.” They both freeze and Kiara backs out of his arms stuttering, “I… just mean that…” She takes a deep breath and remembers who she is. 

“Actually no. Fuck it. I meant that. And I didn’t want to tell you that I’m in love with you because I thought it would make things weird. But you know what? It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“Cool,” JJ replies, after a lifetime and before she can lay into him he finishes, “It’d be really fucked up if we both liked each other like that and one of us thought it was weird.”

It takes her a minute to process what he just said, but when she does, it’s not enough.

“I wanna hear you say it,” she says quietly, “Just once.”

_Just so I can be sure._

“I’m in love with you,” he says, quickly, quietly, but he means it. _He means it._ So she kisses him again, and this time, she lets him lay her down on the sand. No one’s out on the dunes tonight and Kie isn’t thrilled about the sand but her mind goes silent when his hands slip underneath her bralette. Those hands go everywhere. Her hair, her neck. His fingers curl against her when he takes off her panties and she swears little stars explode behind her eyes. Not that she’s ever going to tell anyone; she’s reached her sap quota for the day. It takes awhile, being with him, but there is nowhere she’d rather be than moving his hips with hers and grinning against his bare shoulder. 

They don’t say those three words once throughout it, and they don’t need to. 

Their actions speak loudly enough.

—

Kiara makes sure they don’t miss their flight. She gets JJ to pack up the day before and their taxi arrives at the airport two hours before takeoff. It’s a breeze getting through TSA and the gates now. Soon, they’re settled into seats again. But this time, Kiara’s smiling. This time, she puts her lips against his neck to distract him. This time she leans into his side without a problem as they poke fun at another cheesy flick. She doesn’t know what _this_ will look like when they get back, but more than that she doesn’t _care_. They’ll figure it out just like they figured out their feelings for each other. She’ll still call him a dumbass. He’ll still be one, just with the ability to makeout with her.

Kiara tried her hardest not to fall in love with her best friend. Again. But now that she’s experiencing it, the falling part was the one that got fucked up. The love part doesn’t seem so bad. 


End file.
